William Zabka and Ralph Macchio paid their respects to the late Ed Asner, who guest-starred on Cobra Kai‘s first and third seasons as Johnny Lawrence’s abusive stepfather Sid Weinberg.
“Devastated to hear this news,” Zabka tweeted shortly after the announcement of Asner’s death at age 91. “What a legend. What a beautiful human and special friend. I learned so much from him. My love and deepest condolences to the Asner family #RIP Dear Ed.”
Macchio, despite not acting opposite Asner as Daniel LaRusso on Cobra Kai, also praised the actor for his extensive career on Twitter. “So saddened by this news. A legend and icon in the acting world” he wrote. “Endless respect for his body of work on so many levels. Ed had graced the Cobra Kai series and am grateful to have had a moment or two to meet and connect with him. An absolute privilege. #RIPEdAsner.”
So saddened by this news. A legend and icon in the acting world. Endless respect for his body of work on so many levels. Ed had graced the Cobra Kai series and am grateful to have had a moment or two to meet and connect with him. An absolute privilege. #RIPEdAsner https://t.co/fIeT42RBBc
— Ralph Macchio (@ralphmacchio) August 29, 2021
Asner first appeared in Cobra Kai‘s pilot as Sid to pay Johnny’s bail, before giving him some money in hopes of keeping them estranged. Johnny later used that money to finance and re-open the Cobra Kai Dojo, eventually reimbursing Sid and officially cutting ties with his stepfather for good. However, he went back to Sid in Season 3 in hopes of getting him to pay for Miguel Diaz’s hospital surgery, only to be coldly rebuffed, even after Johnny threatened to go public about Sid’s sexual harassment history.
The famed actor, whose film and television career began in the 1960s, gained critical acclaim for his performance as Lou Grant, the curmudgeonly but good-natured WJM-TV news director on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Asner would go on to win five Emmys for his performance as Grant: three for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and two for its drama spinoff Lou Grant, making Asner one of the few actors to win an Emmy as the same character in different genres. The actor’s other notable performances included playing Captain Davies in Roots, Santa Claus in Elf, and the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s Up and its upcoming spinoff Dug Day. Beyond Up, Asner lent his voice to a number of animated roles, such as Granny Goodness in the DC Animated Universe, Hudson in Gargoyles and J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Cobra Kai, whose fourth season debuts sometime in December, released a teaser trailer in early August hyping up Johnny and Daniel’s All-Valley Karate Tournament war against John Kreese. Previous teasers also foreshadowed the return of antagonist Terry Silver in Season 4, who helped Kreese manipulate Daniel in The Karate Kid: Part III. Netflix, which picked up the show for Season 3 onward, also recently announced it renewed Cobra Kai for Season 5.
Cobra Kai Season 4 premieres on Netflix in December.
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